1985 Festive Fifty
So much was this the year of the Jesus and Mary Chain that they managed to do what even Joy Division had been unable to and occupied the top two slots in the 1985 chart. Their statement of intent was followed with three singles and an album that required a change of drummer but confirmed, and in some cases exceeded, all expectations. With the music press still determined to discover a new scene even if it meant making one up, they dragged with them the first stirrings of C86, albeit in a highly radicalised form. The last stirrings of Gothic rock were most welcome. Live Aid's famine relief (whatever their good intentions) didn't bring immunity from political comment, some reacting negatively to the alleged failure to recognise the true political and economic issues at stake. Along with the anti-apartheid and animal rights statements in this chart, we have a clear movement towards issue-led politics that was very much indicative of the spirit of the times: such splinters from the broader debate of the early eighties would now paradoxically flourish despite the dominance in the country of the political right. It can't be denied that in this and the previous two years the music of an artistically healthy anti-Thatcherite subculture had provided a large chunk of what was interesting.(Whitby, M., The Festive Fifty, Nevin Publishing, 2005, p. 21.) See full writeup and more on the year of Live Aid, the Heysel stadium disaster and end of the UK miner's strike at Teenage Kicks. Although only 50 tracks were played, Peel put together a list of 70 from listeners' votes. You can see the full run-down at the ever-wonderful Rock List site. Show Dates *16 December 1985: #50 - 41 *17 December 1985: #40 - 31 *18 December 1985: #30 - 21 *23 December 1985: #20 - 11 *25 December 1985: #10 - 01 The Festive Fifty Of 1985 *1. Jesus & Mary Chain: Never Understand (LP - Psychocandy) *2. Jesus & Mary Chain: Just Like Honey (LP - Psychocandy) *3. Fall: Cruiser's Creek (Peel Session) *4. Cult: She Sells Sanctuary (LP - Love) *5. Cocteau Twins: Aikea-Guinea (EP - Aikea-Guinea) *6. Chumbawamba: Revolution (7") *7. Felt: Primitive Painters (LP - Ignite The Seven Cannons) *8. Smiths: The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (7") *9. New Order: Perfect Kiss (LP - Low-Life) *10. Housemartins: Flag Day (7") *11. Men They Couldn't Hang: Ironmasters (LP - Night Of A Thousand Candles) *12. Jesus & Mary Chain: You Trip Me Up (LP - Psychocandy) *13. Pogues: Sally MacLennane (LP - Rum, Sodomy And The Lash) *14. Three Johns: Death Of The European (7") *15. Wedding Present: Go Out And Get 'Em Boy (7") *16. New Order: Love Vigilantes (LP - Low-Life) *17. Shop Assistants: All That Ever Mattered (Peel Session) *18. New Order: Sub-culture (LP - Low-Life) *19. Woodentops: Move Me (7") *20. Pogues: A Pair Of Brown Eyes (LP - Rum, Sodomy And The Lash) *21. Echo & The Bunnymen: Bring On The Dancing Horses (LP - Songs To Learn And Sing) *22. That Petrol Emotion: V2 (7") *23. Fall: Spoilt Victorian Child (LP - This Nation's Saving Grace) *24. New Order: Sunrise (LP - Low-Life) *25. Pogues: I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day (LP - Rum, Sodomy And The Lash) *26. Rose of Avalanche: L.A. Rain (7") *27. Cure: In Between Days (LP - The Head On The Door) *28. James: Hymn From A Village (7" - James II) *29. Smiths: The Headmaster Ritual (LP - Meat Is Murder) *30. Age of Chance: Motor City (7") *31. Smiths: That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore (LP - Meat Is Murder) *32. Smiths: Meat Is Murder (LP - Meat Is Murder) *33. Fall: Gut Of The Quantifier (LP - This Nation's Saving Grace) *34. Beloved: 100 Words (Peel Session) *35. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Tupelo (LP - The Firstborn Is Dead) *36. Sisters of Mercy: Marian (LP - First And Last And Always) *37. Vibes: I'm in Pittsburg and it's raining *38. Prefab Sprout: Faron Young (LP - Steve McQueen) *39. Fall: Couldn't Get Ahead (7") *40. Billy Bragg: Between The Wars (EP) *41. Smiths: Well I Wonder (LP - Meat Is Murder) *42. Fall: L.A. (LP - This Nation's Saving Grace) *43. Sisters of Mercy: Some Kind Of Stranger (LP - First And Last And Always) *44. Primal Scream: It Happens (7" - B-side of "All Fall Down") *45. New Order: Face Up (LP - Low-Life) *46. Husker Du: Makes No Sense At All (LP - Flip Your Wig) *47. Robert Wyatt: The Wind Of Change (7") *48. Woodentops: Well Well Well (7") *49. One Thousand Violins: Like One Thousand Violins *50. Shop Assistants: All Day Long (7") Available See individual show dates for details. All of the F50 portions of each show are available. Around 20 minutes are missing from the sessions portions of each of 16 December 1985 and 18 December 1985, while the remaining three shows are now complete. Category: 1985 Category: Festive Fifty